Gaming laptops used to be straightforward. They were powerful but thick and unwieldy. These days, you have options. There are gaming laptops that prioritize performance at all costs and others that home in on thinness, cost, or design. Heck, there are even gaming tablets and 2-in-1s.

That breadth of choice means choosing a gaming laptop in 2026 isn’t simple. While picking any option from our Best Gaming Laptops, Best Cheap Gaming Laptops, and Best Laptops guides is a good place to start, you still might not end up with a gaming laptop perfectly suited for your needs. Having tested many gaming laptops in over a decade of reviewing products, I’ll break down each element of these spendy machines to lead you in the right direction, as well as explain what to expect from the major laptop brands.

Updated February 2026: We’ve added information on the latest gaming laptop announcements from CES, as well as the new context on pricing, the memory shortage, and CPUs.

What Size Gaming Laptop Should You Get?

Razer Blade 14.

Photograph: Luke Larsen

This is a great place to start when shopping for a gaming laptop. When we talk about “sizes” of these machines, we’re usually comparing display sizes, measured diagonally. You’ll often see three sizes across brands: 14-inch, 16-inch, and 18-inch.

16-inch is the happy medium. Though they are large laptops, they give the powerful gaming hardware enough space for the thermals to breathe. Having a larger screen is certainly not a bad thing either. These 16-inch gaming laptops replaced the 15.6-inch gaming laptops of the past, which used a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. Those 15-inch laptops aren’t entirely gone, though, with some of our favorite gaming laptops like the Lenovo LOQ 15 still using 16:9. With a few exceptions, most modern displays use a 16:10 aspect ratio display with thinner bezels. 16-inch laptops can be thin like the Razer Blade 16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 or thick like the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 or Asus ROG Strix G16.

14-inch and 18-inch gaming laptops are more niche, but still have specific use cases where they are good solutions. 14-inch laptops are a newer development, tending to be highly portable and compact. The two primary standouts are the Razer Blade 14 and the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, but there are other models, like the Acer Nitro 14, Asus TUF A14, and HP Omen Transcend 14.

18-inch gaming laptops are the exact opposite. They’re too big for bags, too heavy to comfortably travel with, and are often quite thick. These are gaming laptops meant to primarily be left at a desk or workstation. Why buy them? Well, if you plan to mostly game at home, you might not mind the extra heft. The 18-inch screen gives you lots of real estate to game on. This is especially nice if you aren’t playing on an external monitor. Some of the notable options are the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 or MSI Titan 18 HX AI.

How to Navigate Performance

There’s a lot to consider when it comes to performance, but the place to start is with graphics cards. A gaming laptop needs a discrete GPU to be ready for 3D gaming, and typically, that means choosing from something in Nvidia’s RTX lineup. The latest options, the RTX 50-series, launched throughout 2025, include the RTX 5090, 5080, 5070, 5070 Ti, 5060, and 5050. Nvidia will have you believe that multi-frame generation is the reason to buy a new laptop with one of these GPUs, though in my testing, that hasn’t always proven true. Either way, the feature is there to play with regardless of which GPU your laptop has.

As you’d expect, performance and price scale step by step. I won’t list out all the specs for these graphics cards, but there are a few important things to know when deciding. The RTX 5090 (24 GB), 5080 (16 GB), and 5070 Ti (12 GB) all received additional VRAM over their predecessors in the RTX 40-series, whereas the RTX 5070, 5060, and 5050 are all stuck with just 8 GB. That means for certain game performance, the upgrade from the RTX 5070 to the 5070 Ti is bigger than the 5060 to the 5070. It’s also important to remember that these laptop GPUs do not correspond with the desktop versions in terms of specs.

Figure Technology, a blockchain-based lending company, confirmed it experienced a data breach.

On Friday, Figure spokesperson Alethea Jadick told TechCrunch in a statement that the breach originated when an employee was tricked with a social engineering attack that allowed the hackers to steal “a limited number of files.”

The statement said the company is communicating “with partners and those impacted,” and offering free credit monitoring “to all individuals who receive a notice.”

Figure’s spokesperson did not respond to a series of specific questions about the breach. 

The hacking group ShinyHunters took responsibility for the hack on its official dark web leak website, saying the company refused to pay a ransom, and published 2.5 gigabytes of allegedly stolen data. 

TechCrunch saw a portion of the data, which included customers’ full names, home addresses, dates of birth, and phone numbers. 

A member of ShinyHunters told TechCrunch that Figure was among the victims of a hacking campaign that targeted customers who rely on the single sign-on provider Okta. Other victims of the campaign include Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). 

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,400 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc’s Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

If you need a little help with your New Year’s resolution to be more active, you can save on the latest Apple Watch right now. The Apple Watch Series 11 is on sale for $299 for Presidents’ Day, which is $100 off and the lowest price we’ve seen. A number of other Apple devices are on sale for the holiday as well.

We named the Apple Watch Series 11 as our choice for best smartwatch overall. It scored a 90 in our review thanks to its 24 hours-plus of battery life and a thin, light design that’s easy to wear. It also offers new health metrics, including Apple’s hypertension alerts system and Sleep Score.

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Get it now for 25 percent off. 

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The Apple Watch Series 11 deal is available on the 42mm case with a small/medium band. It also only includes GPS and four colorways: the Jet Black and Space Gray aluminum cases with a Black sport band, the Rose Gold aluminum case with a Light Blush sport band and the Silver aluminum case with a Purple Fog sport band.

Among the other Presidents’ Day Apple deals are mostly accessories: there are solid deals on AirPods, AirTags (the first-gen trackers, not the new, second-gen ones), the iPhone Air battery pack and even Apple’s new crossbody straps that attach to the company’s iPhone cases so you can essentially “wear” your iPhone like a bag. As with most Apple first-party accessories, you can find plenty of more affordable, third-party versions of them as alternatives. But if you’re keen on outfitting your phone with Apple’s own gear, it’s best to wait for discounts like these. We’ve collected the best Presidents’ Day sales on Apple gear below so you don’t have to go searching for them.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Presidents’ Day is a great time to buy appliances, mattresses and furniture as they are often on sale for the holiday. Tech also gets discounted around this time, but you have to do a bit more digging to find actually good deals. And this year, Presidents’ Day comes right after Valentine’s Day and Super Bowl 2026, which means there are some overlapping sales to consider. If you don’t want to sort through the mess of bad deals out there, Engadget has you covered. We’re curating the best President Day sales on tech we can find right here. We’ll update this post through the holiday as more deals become available.

Presidents’ Day deals under $50

Disney+ and Hulu bundle (one month) for $10 ($3 off): You can get one month of Disney+ and Hulu access for only $10 right now. That represents a small savings over the standard $13-per-month price for the bundle, but a 58-percent discount when you compare it to the price of paying for both services separately. It’s a good way to test out the bundle without paying too much before you decide if you want to subscribe for the long haul.

Anker Nano 45W USB-C charger for $30 ($10 off): Anker’s latest 45W charger has a small smart display on it that can show you real-time charging stats. It’s compact design is great for travel, as are its foldable prongs.

Waterpik cordless rechargeable water flosser for $40 (20 percent off): A water flosser like this one can make it easier (and less painful in some cases) to floss your teeth on the regular. This model from Waterpik includes two interchangeable tips and has two pressure settings. Its battery life should last up to four weeks with regular use as well.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $40 ($20 off): Amazon’s most premium streaming dongle supports 4K HDR content, Dolby Vision and Wi-Fi 6E. You may even be able to get it for $10 less than the sale price listed, for a final price of $30, when using the code MAX4KFTV at checkout.

Blink Mini 2K+ — 2 cameras for $45 (50 percent off): Blink’s latest plug-in security cameras support 2K video and improved audio quality. Like previous versions, these cameras have two-way talk, motion alerts and support for Alexa voice commands.

Anker Nano 5K ultra-slim magnetic power bank for $46 (16 percent off): This Qi2 power bank measures less than a half inch thick and snaps onto the backs of the latest iPhones for wireless charging. Its 5K capacity will be enough to top up your phone when it’s close to empty, preventing you from searching for a charger or outlet.

Presidents’ Day deals on Apple devices

Apple iPhone Air MagSafe battery pack for $79 (20 percent off): This magnetic power bank will add up to 65 percent additional battery charge to the iPhone Air, but note that it only works with Apple’s new, ultra-slim smartphone. We’ve tested plenty of others that also work with other iPhone and smartphone models.

Apple Magic Mouse for $68 (14 percent off): Apple’s sleek wireless mouse has a multi-touch surface that supports gesture control, and its battery should last about a month in between charges. And yes, it has a USB-C port.

Apple Watch Series 11 for $299 ($100 off): The latest flagship Apple Watch has excellent performance, a boosted battery life and a lightweight design that you can comfortably wear all day long — and even into the night to track sleep.

iPad mini (A17 Pro ) for $399 ($100 off): The updated iPad mini runs on the A17 Pro chip for improved performance, plus it has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, a 12MP ultra wide camera with Center Stage, USB-C charging and compatibility with the Apple Pencil Pro.

Beats Studio Pro for $170 (51 percent off): Beats updated these cans to have improved sound quality, and you can really hear the difference from models that came before it. These headphones also have solid Transparency mode, good voice performance and USB-C audio.

Beats Solo 4 headphones for $130 (35 percent off): These on-ear headphones support spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, and they have up to 50 hours of battery life. The “fast fuel” feature allows them to get up to five hours of playback time with just a quick 10-minute power-up.

Beats Studio Buds+ for $100 (41 percent off): These tiny buds have both active noise cancellation and transparency mode, and they’ll work just as well with either Apple or Android devices.

More Presidents’ Day deals on tech

Ring Battery Doorbell for $60 (40 percent off)

Logitech MX Master 3S for $80 (20 percent off)

Levoit Core 300-P air purifier for $85 (15 percent off)

Sony WH-CH720N wireless headphones for $94 (48 percent off)

MasterClass Premium (one year) for $120 (50 percent off)

Shark Steam & Scrub steam mop for $125 (22 percent off)

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds for $179 (22 percent off)

Sonos Beam Gen 2 soundbar for $369 ($130 off)

Hisense 75-inch QD7 Mini-LED 4K smart TV for $548 (16 percent off)

DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo drone bundle for $575 (20 percent off)

Breville Barista Touch espresso machine for $800 ($200 off)

Motorola Razer Ultra (2025) for $800 (38 percent off)

Google Pixel 10 Pro for $849 (23 percent off)

Airbnb says its custom-built AI agent is now handling roughly a third of its customer support issues in North America, and it’s preparing to roll out the feature globally. If successful, the company believes that in a year’s time, more than 30% of its total customer support tickets will be handled by AI voice and chat in all the languages where it also employs a human customer service agent.

“We think this is going to be massive because not only does this reduce the cost base of Airbnb customer service, but the quality of service is going to be a huge step change,” CEO Brian Chesky said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call this week. This seems to suggest he believes the AI would do a better job than its human counterparts in resolving some issues.

The company also touted its recent hire of CTO Ahmad Al-Dahle, poached from Meta for his AI expertise, and its plans to create an AI-native experience.

With his guidance, Chesky said that Airbnb was poised to introduce an app that doesn’t just search for you, but one that “knows you.”

“It will help guests plan their entire trip, help hosts better run their businesses, and help the company operate more efficiently at scale,” Chesky explained, adding that’s why Airbnb brought Al-Dahle on board.

“Ahmad is one of the world’s leading AI experts. He spent 16 years at Apple, and most recently led the generative AI team at Meta that built the Llama models. He’s an expert at pairing massive technical scale with world-class design, which is exactly how we’re going to transform the Airbnb experience,” Chesky noted.

Like other businesses poised for disruption by AI, Airbnb’s leadership is pushing the idea that it has a unique database and product that other AI chatbots can’t replicate.

“A chatbot doesn’t have our 200 million verified identities or our 500 million proprietary reviews, and it can’t message the hosts, which 90% of our guests do,” Chesky told analysts during the earnings call. Instead, he pitched the idea of layering AI over the Airbnb experience, which he claimed would help to accelerate growth.

The company forecast revenue growth would be in the “low double digits” this year, after pulling in $2.78 billion in the fourth quarter, above estimates of $2.72 billion. This quarter, it expects revenue of $2.59 billion to $2.63 billion, above Wall Street forecasts of $2.53 billion.

Investors still wanted to know if AI platforms could be a risk in the long-term, assuming they moved into the short-term rentals market. Chesky, however, pushed back at that idea, saying that Airbnb isn’t just the consumer-facing app; it’s also the host app, the customer service, and the protections it offers, like insurance and user verifications.

“We’ve built this over 18 years. We handle more than $100 billion in payments through the platform,” he said.

Meanwhile, AI chatbots serve a function similar to search, in that they deliver top-of-funnel traffic, he noted. That traffic also converts at a higher rate than traffic from Google, Chesky pointed out, suggesting that the shift to AI would benefit Airbnb.

The company is already using AI to power its search, with the feature now enabled for a “very small percentage” of Airbnb’s traffic, while it experiments with making its search more conversational. Later, the company plans to integrate sponsored listings within search.

While Spotify this week told investors its best developers hadn’t written a single line of code since December, thanks to AI, Airbnb offered a more high-level metric on its own internal AI adoption. The company said that 80% of its engineers now use AI tools, and it’s working to get that to 100% soon.

New Fitness Features

Courtesy of Apple

There are many reasons to wear an Apple Watch besides the health features. Maybe you just want quick access to your text, calendars, or Siri. Maybe you want to keep track of your kid or make sure your elderly mom doesn’t fall down.

Still, I have been following the Apple Watch’s development for years, from a fairly standard wearable accessory to a fully featured fitness tracker that now compares favorably against the high-end Garmins and Suuntos of the world. Since its inception, Apple has gone all in on the watch as a personal health device, with CEO Tim Cook even going as far as to say that the watch will save your life. Hypertension notifications and sleep tracking are a significant step forward, although the long-touted noninvasive continuous glucose monitor has yet to make an appearance.

In addition to health-related features, Apple has also unveiled additions to its workout programs over the past few months. The AI-enabled Workout Buddy in Fitness is perhaps the most prominent (although I personally don’t feel like I have benefited that much from a bot cheerfully chirping the name of the song I’m listening to). Apple has also started offering Fitness+ in more countries and launching new workout programs, like three-week strength training programs that are designed to jump-start your workout routines.

It’s also worth noting here that Apple Watch data is compatible with many more fitness and workout apps besides Apple’s proprietary Fitness+. For more information on which app is the right pick for your Apple Watch, check out our guide to the Best Fitness and Workout Apps. Fitness+ is also available on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Compare Top 5 Apple Watches

The Best Apple Watch Apps and Accessories

Photograph: Simon Hill

Once you have your Apple Watch, you’re going to need some accessories. Here are the ones for you to consider first.

A 3-in-1 charger. Apple Watches are notoriously hard to keep charged. This Belkin Qi2 charger ($110) is our favorite stand, but we have many more selections in our Best 3-in-1 Apple Wireless Chargers. You can also pick up a power bank ($90) with a built-in Apple Watch charger so you’re not caught out and about with a dead watch.

Whatever band you want. Our Best Apple Watch Accessories guide has a ton of options. My personal favorite band of all time is the Konsu NYC supple leather band ($169), but we have many more in our guide.

A case and a screen protector. Apple’s service pricing is notoriously exorbitant—repairing a watch costs almost as much as buying a new one! Bigger and more expensive isn’t always better. If the case is big and doesn’t fit well, it will rattle annoyingly every time you get a notification. I like the Spigen Thin Fit Case ($15) and a screen protector set from Amazon ($10); extras are nice if you mess up the first application.

Avoid These Watches

It’s been years since we’ve seen retailers carry the Series 1, Series 2, or Series 3. You may see them on resale sites, but they are not worth the price. WatchOS 26 only works with the second-gen SE and newer, so we no longer recommend buying the Series 4 or 5, or the first-gen SE. The Series 1 isn’t waterproof; neither the Series 1 nor the Series 2 has any cellular capability; and none of these watches are compatible with the latest watchOS version.

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Apple’s long-promised AI overhaul for Siri may be slipping further into the future.

According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, some of the most anticipated Siri upgrades expected in upcoming iOS 26 updates could now be pushed back to iOS 26.5 or even iOS 27.

The revamped Siri was first announced in June 2024, with Apple initially suggesting it would arrive as part of iOS 18. Now, nearly two years later, the full experience still hasn’t materialised.

Recent research into artificial intelligence’s emotional capabilities indicates that AI chatbots – long dismissed as rule-based and mechanical – may be better at recognizing empathetic patterns in text-based communication than many humans. This shift is emerging as large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Gemini and other generative systems are increasingly used in everyday interactions, from customer service to mental-health support.

A study published in Nature Machine Intelligence found that AI models can evaluate the subtleties of empathic communication nearly as well as human experts and significantly better than non-expert people. Researchers analysed hundreds of real text conversations involving emotional support and discovered that AI could detect nuances of empathy consistently across a variety of contexts, suggesting these systems have ‘learned’ patterns of compassionate language that many humans struggle to apply reliably.

Empathy is a plus for AI chatbots

This matters because empathy – the ability to understand and reflect someone else’s emotional experience – has traditionally been viewed as a uniquely human skill rooted in personal experience and emotional resonance. In AI development, empathy has often been treated as an afterthought or superficial add-on, rather than a core communicative function. But as people interact with conversational agents in more emotionally charged situations, such as seeking health advice or discussing personal struggles, the ability of AI to generate responses that feel understanding and validating has real-world impact.

For users, this means that in text-only environments like chat windows or support forums, AI can offer a level of responsiveness that feels comforting and relevant. In some comparative assessments, AI systems have even been rated more compassionate than human respondents, especially when humans lack training in supportive communication. That said, empathy isn’t a single unitary trait: while AI can be adept at mimicking the form of empathetic language, it does not experience emotions as humans do and may still fall short in contexts requiring deep emotional insight or personal connection.

The shift toward empathic AI has broad implications

In healthcare, for example, accessible AI tools could offer emotional validation when clinicians are unavailable, but researchers caution that such tools should complement, not replace, human care because relational nuance and ethical judgement remain crucial. There are also ethical concerns about users misinterpreting AI responsiveness as genuine understanding, highlighting the need for transparency about what AI can and cannot provide.

Looking ahead, AI developers and psychologists are exploring how to refine these systems so they can better support human needs while avoiding overreliance on simulated empathy. While AI’s performance in recognizing emotional language is growing stronger, the next challenge will be ensuring that these models enhance human connection without undermining the value of authentic human empathy in social and clinical contexts.